Royals aren't mulling Gordon's shift to third

ST. PETERSBURG -- Considering Mike Moustakas' .184 batting average entering Sunday, Royals manager Ned Yost was asked if he'd considered moving left fielder Alex Gordon back to third base.

Taken aback a bit, Yost at first didn't want to comment, but then he did.

"I'm not here to fan a fire here, fan a fire there," Yost said. "But to answer your question -- no. The thought hasn't come into my head that we're going to put Alex back at third base. It's never occurred to me."

Gordon began his career as the Royals' regular third baseman and played that position from 2007 to 2010. That season, sent to Triple-A Omaha, he was moved to the outfield. Since that transition, Gordon's hitting has taken off and he's played left field so well that he's won a Gold Glove Award the last two years.

So, Yost really hasn't considered about tinkering with that success.

"Have I thought about putting Alex at first or third in an emergency? Yeah, it's an option," he said. "But have I thought about moving Alex back to third base? No. That thought has never come up in any conversation we've ever had."

Hosmer enjoys hospital visit with Rays' Cobb

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Royals' Eric Hosmer was relieved after his visit on Saturday night to see Rays pitcher Alex Cobb at a local hospital.

"I went and saw him and he was all right," Hosmer said before Sunday's series finale at Tropicana Field. "He had like a blood clot behind his ear and they were done draining it, and we got to go in and talk to him before he was doing his other CAT scans. But, I know they were keeping him overnight."

It was Hosmer's line drive that struck Cobb on the right ear in the fifth inning of Saturday's 5-3 Tampa Bay victory. Cobb was taken off the field on a stretcher amid grave concern about his condition.

The good news was that Cobb sustained only a mild concussion and was released from the hospital on Sunday. He was placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list.

"It was just cool to go and physically talk to him and see how he was doing," Hosmer said. "He was talking and there were a bunch of other guys from his team in there, and he was laughing and joking so it was good to see that.

"I was just glad to see he was good and it just made me feel a lot better to actually see it rather than just hearing about it."

Yost aiming to see Royals at .500 mark

ST. PETERSBURG -- When it comes to goals, manager Ned Yost's next one for the Royals is simple: Reach .500.

"That's my goal," Yost said before Sunday's finale against the Rays. "I was just one game away yesterday."

The Royals lost on Saturday, dropping them to 32-34.

"You have to get back to .500 and then go from there. You've got to do it in steps," Yost said. "You've got to get to .500 before you can compete. You'll never compete under .500."

The Royals' last above-.500 season was 2003, also the last year that they were above the break-even point this late in the season. After 66 games, they were 34-32 and moved to 35-32 after 67 games.

Crown points

• Royals left-hander Danny Duffy pitched three innings in his second rehab start for Triple-A Omaha, throwing 68 pitches. He gave up two runs on four hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

• The Royals' streak of 13 consecutive games of allowing three runs or fewer, which ended on Saturday, was the longest since the Giants' 18 straight games from Sept. 5-24, 2010.

• David Lough's assist on Saturday was the 18th by Royals outfielders, second in the Majors behind the Twins' 22. Alex Gordon has seven, Lorenzo Cain four, Jeff Francoeur and Lough three each, and Jarrod Dyson one.

Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.